From today Hungarian citizens and business actors have access to detailed information on the departure of the United Kingdom from the EU also on the government’s EU website, Pál Péter Schmitt, Deputy State Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office announced. While it has not yet been decided whether there will be a Brexit agreement, the rights of Hungarians living in Britain will not be curtailed, he added.

The Deputy State Secretary for coordinating EU affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office highlighted that while right from the beginning Hungary has had a vested interest in a soft Brexit (a Brexit with an agreement), it is at the same time desirable to prepare for every scenario, and the Hungarian government wishes to contribute to this with the information now released.

All Hungarian ministries took part in the compilation of the website accessible at the link www.eu.kormany.hu/Brexit, and the goal was to create a user-friendly information platform which contains all the latest information both for the outcomes of a soft Brexit and a hard Brexit.

According to Mr Schmitt, the most important goal of the Hungarian government related to Brexit has been achieved as the parties have managed to guarantee citizens’ rights for both eventualities. He added that in this respect the possible postponement of the original Brexit deadline, 29 March – which may take place at Britain’s request and with the approval of the European Council – does not pose any risks.

The government is fully prepared for Brexit also in other respects: the necessary domestic legal rules have been prepared also for the event that there should be no agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom, he said.

He highlighted that if a Brexit agreement is reached, then after 29 March or the final date of Britain’s departure there will be a transitional period extending to 31 December 2020 during which the United Kingdom will no longer be a member of the European Union from a legal point of view, but everything will remain practically unchanged as regards the regulatory environment.

If, however, no agreement is reached for any reason, Britain’s exit will result in immediate changes in the United Kingdom as well as in the laws applicable to Britain, to which both Hungarian businesses and nationals will have to adapt, Mr Schmitt reported.

He added that the website dedicates a separate chapter to the rights of British nationals living in Hungary which the government will continue to guarantee in the spirit of reciprocity.

(Prime Minister’s Office)